Electrical agricultural system



. Dec. 23, N524.v

l 1,520,327 G. E. CASSE-Ll ELECTRICAL AGRIcULT-URAL SYSTEM 1923 2 emv-SI1 t 1 A u L "l" Sh ee Dec. 23, 1924. 1,520,327

G. E. CASSEL ELECTRICAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM Filed March 2Q 1923 `2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Elec. 23,

stares entre FFEQE.

GUNNAR ELLS CASSEL, OF STOCKHOLM., SWEDEE, ASSGNOR T0 ARTUR LEFFLER, OF DJURSHGLM, SXVEBEN.

ELECTRICAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM.

Application led March 2. 1923.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, GUNNAR Ennis CAssmi., a citizen ot' the Kingdom ot Sweden, resid ing at Stockholm, Sweden, have invented new and useful improvements in Electrical Agricultural Systems, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to wire systems tor supplying current to electrically driven t action engines and similar self-propelling vehicles tor agricultural purposes.

rlhe wire systems as hitherto proposed 'tor supplying current to such vehicles have required complicated mechanisms tor the collection ot the current in order to prevent short-circuit and entangling of the current collecting wires operating between the stationary line system and the vehicle.

According to the present invention such drawbacks are avoided by means ot a simple and cheap construction ot wire system. @ne teature of the invention involves the provision oit a stationary network comprising plurality of over head lines extending parallel to each other on the field to be cultivatei'l and each involving one or more bare wires.

Another 'feature ot' the invention involves the provision oitl a current collecting device comprising bridge, mounted between two such over head lines so as to be capable ot being moved along said lines in contact with the wires thereoif, said bridge being so cennected with the vehicle as to be moved with the latter on its way along the lines. rlhe connection between the bridge and the vehicle is, furthermore, ot a nature to permit turning or lateral movements of the vehicle without causing any entangling or shortcircuit.

ln the drawing one embodiment oit the invention is illustrated. Fig. l is an end view ot a wire. system including two stationary lines, each comprising a single wire. Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of said wire system. Fig. 3 is a vertical section and Fig. 4 is a plan View ot the current collecting device of the wire system shown in Fig. l.

ln Figs. l and 2 l have illustrated part ot a stationary network, comprising two parallel over-head lines, each involving a single bare wire l and 2, respectively. One of said wires is connected to the positive Serial No. 622,420.

terminal ot a continuous current source and the other wire is connected to the negative terminal oit the same source. The two lines are situated at a comparatively great distance apart on the lield to be cultivated. The traction engine 3 supports a pole 'l carrying two rope pulleys 5 and 6, respectively. Each ot said pulleys supports a wire 7 and S, respectively, connected to a current collecting roller or disk 9 and 1G, respectively, engaging its corresponding over head wire l and 2, respectively. The design and construction of the rope pulleys is more clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 4. The pole ends at its top in a pivot pin ll, on which is mounted a hub bushing l2. The pulley (S is rigidly secured to said bushing and also electrically connected thereto. The pulley 5 is rotatably mounted on the bushing l2 and electrically insulated therefrom. The two pulleys are connected together by means ot a spiral spring 13 tending to rotate them relatively to each other in a manne-r to maintain the wires 7, 8 under continuous tension. The wires are oppositely wound around the pulleys so that one ot them will be unwound from its respective pulley and the other will be wound on to its pulley, when the pulleys are rotated simultaneously around the pole 4l, due, for instance, to the propelling of the traction engine in a direction parallel to the direction ot the wires 7 and 8. rlhe wire 7 is conductively connected to one terminal of the power motor ot the traction engine by means oit pulley 5 and a separate wire 14. while the wire El is conductively connected to the other terminal or said power motor by way ot pulley 6, bushing l2, and pole l.

1Vith a wire system as described above the traction engine is able to move within the zone enclosed between the two wires l and Q without causing any entangling or short circuit ot the various wires. lt the lield is very large, there may be provided as many parallel wires as is necessary to enclose the whole lield. Alternate wires are in such case connected to positive and negative current source, respectively. The wire system, however, may not only be used for continuous current, as assumed in the above description, but may also be used in connection with alternating current. The system shown in Figs. 1 2 may, of course, be used without any modiiications for singephase alternating current- What I claim is A wire system for supplying current to electrically driven self-propelling vehicles for agricultural purposes, comprising in combination a plurality of stationary bare wire over head lines extending parallel to each other on the field to be cultivated, a current collector bridge movable along two such lines in contact therewith, said bridge including a sliding Contact on each of said lines7 two Wire pulleys on the vehicle, and

two separate wires, each extending between one of said sliding contacts and one of said pulleys, said pulleys being mounted so as to be capable of rotation relatively to each other, and connected together by a spring tending to rotate the pulleys relatively to each other inl a direction to hold their respective wires under tension.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name.

GUNNAR ELIAS CASSEL. 

